A typical home network connects two or three computers, via a wireless or Ethernet connection - useful enough. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) takes things much further, though, by offering the same convenient LAN-like connectivity to many more friends and colleagues, wherever they might be in the world. It's perfect for everyone from online gamers to businesses with distributed teams, and there's no easier way to set up a VPN than with Hamachi 2.0.

Once installed, click Network > Create Network to get started. Provide a Network ID, a name that others will use to locate you, and a password that will keep everyone else out (or that's the idea, so make sure it's very hard to guess).

Now give your friends a call, telling them the network ID and password. Once they've installed Hamachi, they can then click Network > Join Network, enter the details you've provided, and in a few seconds the system will connect them to you. You'll be able to see that they've arrived, launch a network chat program, share resources and generally behave as though they were a local network user.

There may be some complications, for example with gaming, depending on the routers that your friends are using - and so you may have to set up port forwarding before everything will work as you expect. The LogMeIn wiki has detailed instructions on what to do, though, and you can also ask questions in the busy support forums, where other users will do their best to help you out.

Note that the free version of Hamachi is for personal, non-commercial use only, and is limited to a maximum of 16 clients per VPN. If you need to get more people connected, or are using the program for business purposes, then you must purchase a licence (currently $33 a month or $199 annually).

What's new in Hamachi 2.2.0.319?

- Added a more accurate error message that displays when attempting log in with a LogMeIn Central user who lacks proper permissions under Users > Network (Hamachi).
- Various stability improvements

Verdict:

Easy to use, and with a very unrestricted free version, Hamachi deserves to be your VPN service of choice

Spotlight: Free Full Software

The program makes it easy to create simple data discs and audio CDs, for instance: just drag and drop your files onto the list area and you'll be burning the finished disc in a couple of clicks.

That's just the start, though. Burning Studio 2013 can also create data discs with customised, interactive multi-page menus, perfect if you'd like a more professional way to share and present the disc contents.

A built-in backup tool allows you to create backups which may be encrypted, compressed, and span several CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays.

The focus throughout is on ease of use, though, and so Ashampoo Burning Studio 2013 remains very straightforward, whatever you're doing. Most disc projects are created via the same simple interface, and for the most part all you have to do is drag and drop the necessary files. But experts will find more advanced options are only a click away, and if you need to then you can set ISO and UDF version, enable Joliet, make a disc bootable and more.

Note the download here will take you to the Downloadcrew Software Store where you can download Burning Studio 2013.